Tiny optical modulator could enable giant future quantum computers

quantum chip_with_light_coupled jake freedman eichenfield
Optical chip developed in the study with laser light from an optical fiber array. (Credit: Jake Freedman)

Researchers have made a major advance in quantum computing with a new device that is nearly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

Published in the journal Nature Communications, the breakthrough optical phase modulators could help unlock much larger quantum computers by enabling efficient control of lasers required to operate thousands or even millions of qubits—the basic units of quantum information.

Critically, the team of scientists have developed these devices using scalable manufacturing, avoiding complex, custom builds in favor of those used to make the same technology behind processors already found in computers, phones, vehicles, home appliances—virtu...

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Earth’s atmosphere may help support human life on the moon

Illustration of Earth, the sun, and the moon, with atmospheric particles flying about them to illustrate how lunar soil ended up with particles from Earth.
FLY ME TO THE MOON: Solar wind (yellow-orange trails) strips ions from Earth’s upper atmosphere (sky-blue trails). Some of these particles travel along Earth’s magnetic field lines (solid white curves) and settle on the Moon’s surface. This process may leave lunar soil with a record of Earth’s atmosphere. (University of Rochester illustration / Shubhonkar Paramanick)

The moon’s surface may be more than just a dusty, barren landscape. Over billions of years, tiny particles from Earth’s atmosphere have landed in the lunar soil, creating a possible source of life-sustaining substances for future astronauts. But scientists have only recently begun to understand how these particles make the long journey from Earth to the moon and how long the process has been taking place.

New r...

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AI-based tool predicts future cardiovascular events in patients with angina

cardiovascular disease
Credit: AI-generated image

Reduced coronary blood flow, measured with an artificial intelligence-based imaging tool, predicted future cardiovascular events in patients with suspected stable coronary artery disease. These findings were presented at EACVI 2025, the congress of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI).

Stable coronary artery disease (CAD) refers to the common syndrome of recurrent, transient episodes of chest symptoms, often manifesting as angina. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a noninvasive heart scan that is used as the first-line investigation for patients with suspected stable CAD.

AI tools and FFR-CT explained
While CCTA clearly shows blockages in coronary arteries, it is limited in its ability to estimate reduced blood flow...

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Safe and affordable fast-charging batteries: Multi-layered alkali metal structures open the door to energy of the future

Safe and affordable fast-charging batteries: Multilayered alkali metal structures open the door to energy of the future
Multilayers of alkali metals in carbon-based materials. Credit: Ilya Chepkasov and Alexander Kvashnin/Small

Skoltech scientists conducted a study that advances research on future batteries. Their paper, published in Small, sheds light on recent advances in designing multilayered structures of alkali metals, such as lithium, sodium, and potassium, within carbon anode materials.

This technology has the potential to transform the energy storage market, enabling electric vehicles to charge in minutes and providing green energy with stable, safe, and affordable storage systems.

How multilayered structures improve batteries
For years, ions were believed to form only single-atom layers in a battery’s carbon materials, such as graphite...

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